A Twisted Storm in the Face of Life
by falling.4ever
Summary: A story about Bella told by Bella if she had never known her mom and if her dad had died in a fire when she was 18. I am a huuuuuuge EdwardBella fan, so of course they'll be together. ExB! R&Rs please! Be brutal!
1. the Sorrow

**A Twisted Storm in the Face of Life**

**Chapter 1: the Sorrow**

I ran. I don't know how far, or how long for all it mattered—I just needed to get out. To break free from the earthly bond I was chained in. To set myself apart from the world—yet so many memories flooded my mind before I had the chance to barricade myself from their painful means...

_"Daddy?"_

_"Yes, darling?"_

_"Why won't mommy come home?"_

_"Well, sweetheart, mommy just needs to spend a little more time with God, she's very busy..."_

Why was this happening to me?!

My life was crumbling to ruins, right before my denying eyes, yet I was too defiant to accept the truth—this was the end.

For years on end, my widowed father hid the secret from me that my mother was no longer alive, that she had past of a treacherous form of breast cancer shortly after I had turned one. When I was eleven, I finally realized that she _wasn't_ coming home ever again...

_"Daddy?"_

_"Yes, angel?"_

_"Where is mom?"_

_"She's still visiting with God, honey, don't worry..."_

_"Will she ever come back?"_

_"..."_

_"Daddy, tell me! Will she ever come back?!"_

_"...no..."_

I had cried myself to sleep every night after that—it was too much for me to bear, after all those years of anxious anticipation, just _waiting_ for my long lost mom to come home... Little had I known my dreams would never come true, that they would slowly turn to nightmares that would haunt me into eternal insecurity. And then...

_"Bella, we need to tell you something..."_

_"Yes? What is it?"_

_"Bella, you're father was working this morning, on the top floor..."_

_"What happened, did he get in a fight with Randy, is he alright?"_

_"Bella, listen to me—he was in the building where the fire started. He was on the top floor."_

_"What are you saying?"_

_"Your father won't be coming home. We're terribly sorry, we tried to get him out in time it was too late..."_

_"No! You're wrong, that's impossible, he couldn't be gone! He'll be home tonight, you'll see! He'll get home! I'll cook dinner for us, and then he'll settle down to read his book, or maybe watch TV! Then we'll go to bed, and in the middle of the night, when I start screaming, he'll come in like he always does, and he'll tell me everything's alright, and that mom's watching us in heaven, and..."_

_A single tear collected on my cheek—then I ran._

NO! I would not allow myself to drown in my pain, and I tried to keep my head up—but my emotions got the better of me. And I curled up into a ball, with my arms hugging my legs to my chest. With that, I buried my head and wept.

"Are you alright?"


	2. Edward Cullen

**Chapter 2**

"I'm sorry," the voice continued, "but are you alright? Do you need any help?"

My attempts to stifle my cries were futile, and I immediately decided to discontinue the tries—I cried openly to this stranger.

I looked up to see the most beautiful face I'd ever seen, but I was so depressed that all I let myself notice was how concerned he looked about me. _Me, _an absolute nobody, definitely not worthy of any outside help. I was one unto myself—the fire had decided that.

"Hello..." I greeted him, still heaving with post-cry, frame-racking breaths.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen," he looked like he was about to reach out and take my hand by means to pull me up, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he decided to question me with, "What's your name?"

"Isabella Swan, but please call me Bella," I managed in between sobs. Wow, this Edward guy seemed really nice, I wonder if he could help me find my way home...

"Bella, then. I like that name, it's cute," he complimented.

I blushed furiously, and he grinned in response. But it was no ordinary grin—it was kind of crooked. But it took my breath away, no matter what angle it was on. "Ummm... do you think you could show me how to get here?" I asked, pulling out a piece of paper that had my newest address written on it. I realized that my crying was subsiding—that is, 'till I realized that the untidy scrawl covering the scrap of paper in my hand belonged to my father.

I tried to look at it without getting too emotional, especially not in front of Edward, but I felt a fresh batch of tears preparing themselves for release—one escaped.

"Wow, you look like you're having a rough night," his velvet voice entered my thoughts, and I glanced up, grateful for an excuse to look away from the writing. Somehow, his face looked comforting, but there was something else there. He was contemplating something, something I couldn't fully grasp.

"You'd be surprised," I sniffled. So I began.


	3. Meeting Carlisle

"My mom had been gone for many years, and I would ask when she would come home. My--," I gulped, "dad would tell me she was just visiting God, and I would believe him. But I finally wondered if she would ever come back, and I asked that. I was eleven when I found out she was really gone for good." This brought on a dry heave, for I could have cried but tried as hard as I could to hold back. "And then Charlie…"

I felt the pain lance up my spine. "He—he's gone!" I finally accepted it, and I broke down sobbing. _No no no, Charlie I need you! Please come back, I can't take life without you, Dad please! Please!_

And I collapsed in tears. The concern spelled out on Edward's gorgeous face had increased tremendously, and he looked quite torn. He wanted to help but it seemed like he couldn't.

And then everything was black…

oooooo000000OOOOOO000000oooooo

… "I don't know how he died, she hasn't told me yet."

"She's really shaken you know, I wouldn't ask her. If she wants to tell you she will."

My eyes slowly fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was an absolute god, right beside me.

There he stood motionlessly, his bronze hair in a beautiful disarray, his topaz eyes positively stunning. He glanced over at me and let out a relieved sigh that seemed to say 'Thank goodness.'

And then it all rushed back to me. His name was Edward, and he had found me crying—nay, _sobbing_, when I found out about…

I gasped in horror and grief when I remembered my latest tragedy and Edward winced.

"Bella I'm sorry, I brought you to Carlisle as soon as you passed out, I didn't know what else to do. It wouldn't have been smart to simply leave you lying there unconscious," Edward stated.

"Bella, I understand your situation and I have been wondering if your home is the best place for you to be right now," Carlisle began. "What I do know is you are going through shock and it would be better for your health if you tried to sleep. I believe we can accommodate you for the night, if you accede."

"I suppose one night wouldn't hurt…" I murmured, trying to refrain from crying until I was alone."

"Very well," he said, then he directed his attention towards Edward. "Do you think Alice or Rosalie could assist her? She will need some things if she is to stay tonight."

"Rosalie? No, she wouldn't help. However Alice… I think she'll be prepared well enough," Edward replied, smiling grimly. "Bella, do you think you feel well enough to walk, or should I carry you?"

"I feel fine," I managed; however, I stumbled when I attempted to stand and Edward instantly decided that carrying me would be a good idea.

"Okay well that answers it," he concluded as he gracefully scooped me up bridal style.

He started towards the door, stepping carefully across the tiled floor, and I melted into his arms. As we ascended the stairway I saw a pixie-like girl standing at the very top.

"Alice can you help her?" Edward asked. I watched as his supple lips formed the words, listened as he turned them into music. I must have missed Alice's nod, because Edward then turned to me.

"Do you…" he stopped when he looked down at me, momentarily speechless, and I noticed how close he was to me. "Do you want to stay in my room?" he finished.

"I…" I thought about this. Edward seemed like a nice guy and I wanted to have someone there with me now that I was indeed alone… "I'll stay with you."

"Alright then. Alice can you lend her some clothes?" he asked her, and she visibly perked up.

"Absolutely, I'll be right back," she answered, her voice melodic, and she disappeared through the doorway to her right as I fell asleep in Edward's arms.


	4. Learning

I woke up on a black couch in the middle of a room wondering where I was. It finally hit me that last night had been the night I met Edward, the boy who took me into his home and let me sleep there for a night. I was in his room. But where was his bed?

I starting thinking about last night's events and I finally remembered—Charlie was gone. This thought brought on fresh tears, and I couldn't control myself. I was shaking so violently from every sob, and I couldn't believe this had happened. Charlie was the only person I had left and he had been taken from me. I loved him!

"Bella, Bella are you alright!" I heard that angelic voice and tried to pull myself together but failed miserably.

"He's gone!" I sobbed frantically, needing Edward to understand this. "Charlie. He's gone!" I tried to tell him, but he couldn't hear me through the ripping cries pouring from my mouth.

"I know, Bella, I know," was all he could say. He reached out and it looked as if he were about to embrace me. He hesitated and followed through. As soon as I felt his arms around me I felt considerably better, but I was still crying silently into his shoulder, shaking against him. All I could think about was Charlie, and how he had gone so far before his time. Right when I needed him most.

I lost track of time, and when I was done crying I had no idea how long we had been sitting there like that—me in his arms, him murmuring comforting things in my ear.

I sat up and his arms fell from my sides. "Thank you," I said as I tried to wipe my face off. I couldn't seem to look him in the eyes, so I found another part of him to stare at—the shoulder my face had previously pressed into. It was soaked!

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, I ruined your shirt!" I exclaimed, horrified by the mess I had left.

"It's fine Bella, really, I have a closet full of all this. Alice makes sure of that… You do remember Alice, right? From last night? She really loves fashion; she has a particular passion for it really. And she can tell you're a really sweet girl, so she wanted to help."

I blushed deeply. "Oh… well that's really nice of her when she hardly knows me."

Edward chuckled, and my breath caught in my chest for a moment. "It's the way she is. She has… premonitions about things, and people, and she can tell you're really nice. She thinks you're going to be great friends," he said grinning.

"Really. Well that's really nice of her, too. What is she like?"

"Well," he began, "as I mentioned before she loves shopping, and clothes as long as they're in style. She is definitely full of energy; you'll come to understand that later on. And she's very persistent. What she wants, she wants. And she will pester you until you cave. But she's really nice and good-spirited so you have nothing to worry about."

"Hm. Good to know…do you have any other siblings? Last night I thought you mentioned someone… Rosalind, Rochelle… Rosalie! Rosalie?"

"Good memory! Yes, Rosalie is my sister, she has blond hair, and she is really quite lovely actually." This last characteristic made my heart drop a bit for some odd, unknown reason. "But I must say that she can be extremely shallow, and I don't think she'd help anyone. She typically just focuses on herself, which is why I don't like her all that much… Oh and I have two brothers, Emmett and Jasper. Emmett is Rosalie's boyfriend, and he's huge. Muscular and goofy. He's really playful, and I don't think you'll have any problems with him. He's really quite sweet. Jasper is a little aloof when it comes to people… _outside_ the family. Alice's boyfriend. He doesn't hate people, he just doesn't _like _being around them. Nice guy though. He can be really helpful when he needs to be."

"I'm still confused. They're dating within their own family?" I made a face.

"No, silly Bella, we're all adopted. Carlisle and Esme adopted us. Emmett, Alice, and I are siblings, and Jasper and Rosalie are a family too."  "And now I get it!" I stated triumphantly.

Edward laughed. "And now you get it."I laughed with him, realizing how good it felt to laugh with him, how good it felt to have a friend. A very cute friend…

"Edward, what time is it?"

He checked his watch and replied, "It's almost 5:50. Why?"

"I'm a bit hungry. I think I should go home and make dinner or something," I said, realizing I'd have to return to a house of new memories…

"Maybe that would be a good idea. Or we could go to dinner instead? My treat. Do you think you're up to it or should you be home right now?"

"Dinner with you would be fine. But I need a shower. And some clothes. So maybe I should go home—"

"Alice can help!" he was quick to change my mind back. Eager, even. "She can help you with everything you need. Trust me, she's really sweet, she'll love every minute of it. Just give her a try."

"I don't know…" I wasn't sure. I didn't know if it was the best idea to put myself in a stranger's hands. Then again, I had met Edward like that. But I had fainted! I had no say in the matter! I was still unsure.

"Please?" Edward asked sweetly. I looked up into his eyes and met his smoldering gaze. I was temporarily mesmerized by his beautiful topaz eyes that seemed to cut right through me and reach to my soul. He suddenly looked down and I realized I had been leaning toward him subconsciously. I was undeniably at a loss for words.

"I-I-I s-s-suppose I could j-j-just get her h-h-help," I stuttered.

He looked up again and smiled crookedly. "Excellent," he said, a glint of amusement and excitement in his incredible eyes.


End file.
